NCperson gave you only part of the story. If you read a little further in Publication 526 you see that for any contribution of $250 or more you must have "a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of your contribution from the qualified organization." In other words, a receipt from the charity. It goes without saying that the receipt from the charity has to be issued to you. A receipt issued to someone else is not going to be acceptable to substantiate your deduction. You are definitely asking for trouble by doing what you are doing. The IRS is very tough about substantiation for charitable donations. If you are audited, your deductions will be disallowed. You need straightforward substantiation that meets all the IRS requirements, without any complicated or strained explanations. It's too late to do anything about contributions you have already made, but start making the contributions in your own name if you are going to deduct them.
